Mirrors for motor vehicles, especially outside mirrors, are continually incorporating more electronic components, which serve, for example, for the control of positioning motors, for control display devices, and for sensors and the like. DE 199 04 778 A1 discloses, for example, an outside mirror for commercial vehicles, which, during driving in a curve, automatically compensates its position, so that a dead angle in such cases is avoided. The associated electronic components for this action are enclosed within the mirror housing.
Since the outside mirror is exposed to wind and weather, it is especially vital that these electronic components be protected against dampness within the housing. Accordingly, the electronic components in question and their wiring are advantageously encapsulated in a waterproof material; i.e., they are placed in a hermetically sealed encasement. If the individual components of the mirror need to be examined for maintenance purposes, it becomes necessary to reset the electronic components and their wiring to certain operational positions or states of circuitry. For this purpose, it is necessary to access the electronic components, which, in the present example, can only be done with considerable disassembly and/or demounting operations.
Electronic control apparatuses have been offered, for instance, in anti-locking systems, which are placed in the engine compartment or motor space apart from the outside mirror. These apparatuses exhibit a diagnostic window with a magnetically sensitive circuit. If a magnet is introduced in this area, then a reset is activated. The area of the diagnostic window in which the magnet sensitive circuit is to be found is designated with the legend “RESET”.